Archive for February 9th, 2018

9 February 2018 (Wall Street International)* — Despite the self-congratulatory tone of both his Davos Speech and State of the Union Address, President Trump has not yet obtained the confidence of the leaderships of major US allies or their populations.

Nor has Trump been able to point the way to the establishment of more positive diplomatic relations with American rivals that could guarantee global peace in the long term. After a full year in office, Trump’s dealings with both US allies and rivals have not yet appeared to possess any discernible “method.”

Tragically, drought images from the country are so familiar that they rarely make the headlines.

But the situation in Somalia has grown desperate. The recent drought has caused spikes in food scarcity, malnutrition, and cholera and other diseases; it has also driven people from the rural areas into the cities. In 2017, 1.2 million children were projected to be acutely malnourished; 80,000 children were forced to stop attending school; and 120,000 risked dropping out.

Ongoing conflicts and climate-related shocks have left millions of people on the brink of starvation, the United Nations agriculture agency on 8 February 2018 warned as it launched a $1.06 billion appeal to save lives and livelihoods, and tackle acute hunger in 26 countries.

An elderly woman begs for food at a camp for internally displaced persons on the outskirts of Dinsoor, Somalia. Photo: Giles Clarke for Getty/OCHA